


Keep Your Enemies Closer

by Kyluxtrashpit (ApostateRevolutionary)



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Bad Guys Win, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Emperor Hux, Hux is Not Nice, M/M, Shock Collars, Threats, or at least Hux does (Kylo does not)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 01:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17909693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApostateRevolutionary/pseuds/Kyluxtrashpit
Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Kylo assumes the Resistance is to blame. It doesn't occur to him until it's too late that perhaps he hadn't kept Hux close enough after all.





	Keep Your Enemies Closer

**Author's Note:**

> Another fill for [badthingshappenbingo](https://badthingshappenbingo.tumblr.com/) on tumblr and this was for the prompt "Shock Collar". You can see [my full card here](http://kyluxtrashpit.tumblr.com/post/182412821701/)
> 
> Warnings: bad ending for Kylo (but a good one for Hux), non-specific threat at the end that could be interpreted in a number of ways (details on the threat in the end notes)

Kylo’s ears were ringing with static from the explosion, the blast of it having thrown him off balance. He looked around as fast as his pounding head allowed him, searching for any sign of their attackers. According to the report Hux had given him, the Resistance was dug in deep here, getting stronger every day and they had to be quashed before they became a threat proper. They’d been attacked almost immediately, yet there was still no sign of their aggressors.

He searched for Hux, too. He’d kept the man close since he’d taken the title of Supreme Leader, limiting his ability to stage a coup since killing him was, unfortunately, not an option. Hux was still necessary to the running of the Order and Kylo couldn’t believe he was hoping Hux hadn’t been killed in the explosion. Kylo didn’t know if he’d established himself enough yet that he could keep the Order from crumbling without Hux to hold it all together. He may have hated Hux, but he still needed him.

As the world came back into focus, Kylo had just enough time to think how strange it was that the Resistance hadn’t taken advantage of the chaos following the explosion before cold metal closed around his neck from behind. He snarled and went to turn, but his body ran cold as his senses dulled, the Force suddenly out of reach. Kylo had never been without it, the power of the Force his constant companion virtually since birth and he reeled, a kind of fear he’d never felt before washing over him.

An excruciating jolt of electricity then shot through his body and Kylo fell to his knees, his vision tunneling. He still hadn’t seen his attacker, couldn’t fathom how the Resistance could’ve managed this, but what other explanation was there? The shocks continued, forcing a shout from his throat before he was falling forward, the world fading to black.

* * *

It became clear what happened rather quickly. If waking up attached to a wall by the neck in what was clearly a First Order holding cell hadn’t immediately given it away, the Stormtroopers that came to retrieve him would’ve. It had been a setup all along, obviously a plot of Hux’s that Kylo had managed to miss given that Hux was the one who’d given him the report on the Resistance that had led them to that planet in the first place. Besides, there was no one else who could’ve pulled off such a plan.

The realization that he’d been tricked, that the Resistance had never been on that planet at all, sat heavy in Kylo’s gut as he was taken down the familiar path to the throne room. He felt like such a fool for missing Hux’s ploy, forcing back a grimace as the doors opened. For here he was, with a Force-suppressing collar around his neck and a Stormtrooper leading him on a pole of a leash, like a mad dog, to the rabid cur himself.

Hux was seated on the throne looking appropriately smug. Kylo couldn’t blame him; he’d won, after all, gotten everything he had ever wanted. Kylo was at his mercy and, while Hux was known for many things, none of them had anything to do with mercy. It was then and there that Kylo realized he was most likely going to die.

“So good of you to join me, Ren” Hux said and Kylo already wished he could wipe the smirk off his face. “Although I should point out that it’s terribly rude not to kneel before your Emperor.”

Kylo scowled; he would not be cowed so easily. “If you think I’ll kneel for you, then you’re more delusional than the rumours say.”

“I think you’ll find you have no choice in the matter,” Hux said, pulling a small device from his pocket and pressing a button on it with his thumb.

The collar activated again and the shocks ripped through Kylo. He grit his teeth, trying to endure, but they were too strong and he was forced to his knees once again. The shocks immediately stopped and Kylo took the moment of reprieve, breathing heavily, before glaring up at Hux. Hux’s smirk sharpened and Kylo was brought back to when he’d woken in the throne room after killing Snoke and how he’d choked Hux to force his compliance. Of course Hux wanted to even the score.

“Now, that’s much better,” Hux said, leaning back on his throne. “You look so good in supplication, Ren. You belong on your knees.”

Kylo’s lip curled. He wanted to hurl insults, to snarl, to use the Force to knock Hux down to the level he belonged at, but every harsh word that came to mind felt empty. Without the Force, Kylo was rendered completely impotent. He couldn’t even kill Hux the old fashioned way thanks to the shock collar; he’d never get close enough as long as Hux had that remote.

So instead he stayed silent, putting as much hate into his gaze as he could. Kylo Ren did not fear death and he would not debase himself so much as to beg for his life. He just hoped Hux would get on with it already instead of drawing it out.

Hux’s laughter broke his musings. “Oh, do you think you can kill me with your glare alone? Perhaps you could, once, but I’m afraid you’ll never be able to use your magic again. You’re nothing without it, just a frightened, angry boy who made the mistake of thinking he could play at ruling.”

“Are you just going to talk me to death, then?” Kylo snarled, trying to ignore how close to home Hux’s words had actually hit.

Hux rolled his eyes. “Still so impatient. How should I kill you, then? Do you have a preference? Public execution is always a good choice; it never hurts to make examples where one needs to, you know. But private, oh, private is so much more _intimate_. It would be so satisfying to do it personally, take my time with it…”

While Hux spoke, Kylo moved to stand, to give what could be his last act of defiance while he had the chance. Hux noticed, though, and there was the remote again. The shocks lanced through Kylo’s body and he cried out, falling forward onto his hands and knees, his muscles spasming painfully with electricity. It was like the Force lightning Snoke used to use on him but _everywhere_ and it wasn’t stopping. Kylo briefly wondered if this is how Hux would kill him.

Finally, the shocks abated again and Kylo failed to swallow a groan of pain. Fuck, he wanted to just collapse, to lie down and give up and finally have an end to all the pain and fear he’d felt his whole life, but he _couldn’t_. He would not surrender to anyone, least of all Hux.

“Careful, Ren,” Hux taunted, singsong. “Keep that up and I might end up doing permanent damage. You stubborn thing, always so defiant. Or do you simply _want_ to die, is that it? Because if you think you wish you were dead now, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”

No, Kylo knew full well what Hux was capable of when it came to cruelty. He should fear it, he knew, but Kylo had always had a talent for enduring pain. What he didn’t appreciate was the gloating, the humiliation of having Hux’s victory and his own failure rubbed in his face.

“What I want is for you to stop toying with me and just do whatever you’re going to do.” Kylo’s voice was hoarse but he didn’t care. “I can’t stand to hear your fucking voice anymore.”

That earned him another shock, but it was short-lived, a warning more than a punishment. Still, Kylo’s eyes blurred with tears he blinked away, his limbs shaking just from the effort of holding himself up. Even three rounds of shocks were enough to have his body aching, his muscles twitching from the electricity.

“It’s cute that you still seem to think you have a choice in what happens to you now,” Hux said, causing Kylo to look up at him again. “Whether I kill you or not and how I do it is not up to you. Nothing is anymore.”

Kylo just stared him down, forcing himself back up into a kneeling position. Hux’s thumb twitched, but the shocks didn’t come once Kylo had settled on his knees again. He was no coward, did not fear even the shocks, and he was sure that Hux saw his lack of trying to stand as obedience, but the truth was Kylo wasn’t sure if his legs would hold him even if he managed it.

“But I think there still might be some fun to be had with you.” Hux’s smirk widened, turning hungry in a way Kylo didn’t like. “I don’t think you’ve been truly broken yet and I’d love to see that before I dispose of you.”

Despite himself, Kylo’s stomach dropped, and his blood ran cold when Hux looked to the Stormtrooper holding the pole attached to his collar. “Install him in my personal quarters and make sure he’s properly secured.”

Biting his tongue, Kylo managed to keep himself from shouting in protest. He was prepared to die, not be subject to the non-existent mercy of Hux’s whims. The possibilities of what was in store for him flashed through his mind and Kylo dreaded each one. It was only when the collar was tugged hard enough to pull Kylo over that he realized he hadn’t moved, wide-eyed and frozen in the wake of whatever Hux had planned for him.

As he was led out, Kylo glanced to Hux to see him leaning forward eagerly, a self-satisfied grin on his face. “Don’t look so gutted, Ren. You’re still alive, after all, and I have oh so many plans for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Detailed warning: Hux orders Kylo to be taken to his personal quarters, implying he has unpleasant plans for Kylo. These plans are not detailed but could be interpreted as a number of things, including torture, rape, death, etc.
> 
> Come hang out with me on [tumblr](http://kyluxtrashpit.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/kyluxtrashpit/) too


End file.
